1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for emptying a container filled with products such as agricultural or horticultural products by immersing the container in a basin filled with liquid, causing the products to flow out of the container and lifting the emptied container out of the basin.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Such a method is known and is applied for instance to unload crates filled with horticultural products such as apples into a sorting device. The crate with apples is herein moved vertically downward into the basin filled with liquid, generally water, whereby the apples, which are lighter than water, will float out of the crate. A transport channel is herein generally connected onto the basin, while using pumps a water current is generated from the basin to the channel whereby the apples float out of the basin into the channel to the sorting device.
This known method has a number of drawbacks. It is for instance only suitable for emptying containers which are filled with products which float well in the chosen liquid. If this liquid is water the known method is certainly suitable for apples but not for instance for pears which have considerably less buoyancy in water. A solution herefor which is frequently used in practice is to adapt the properties of the liquid, for instance by adding agents thereto such as salt and the like. This has the drawback that the products themselves are often adversely affected by such additives. Particularly in the case of products intended for human consumption this is generally unacceptable. In addition, components which come into contact with the liquid, such as the basin, the channel and moving parts possibly present therein, are often also corroded by such additives. Another drawback of the known method is that it is relatively slow. It is necessary to wait until all products have floated up out of the container and been carried by the current from the basin to the channel before the container can be removed from the basin and a following container can be unloaded therein. This creates interruptions in the supply of the products to the sorting device.